Camper Conversion - Prototype Bed

[tweetyduck]

So as some of you may know i've gone on and on (and on) about various options to turn my 110 into a camper. Azalai was discounted due to the price and the pop roof also went the same way as £8K buys a lot of hotels. So for about £80 i knocked up this prototype frame out of wood which although it supports both our weight wouldn't make it into Australia so its going to be fabricated in Steel 30mm square section which i will weld myself of in Aluminium which the local metal place will do. (might do either,the only benefit for Ali is the weight and it doesn't need finishing. However it cost £££)

note the second row seat for visitors whcih also serves as a dining room chair (with table) for those chilly days. The seat on the drivers side will be a wooden plank.

The bed surface is over 6 feet long and wide enough to fit two easily in comfort as you can see by the camping mat there's loads of room under it which will be filled with Really Usefull Box's in Strong White. Some may be clear so we can see whats in them.

I also should mention that the front centre square which is where the "table" goes for dinner is the same size as a Engel Fridge...well it will be when i decide what model i'm getting. Might get a Luna.

The wooden surface stores in the roof if needed. See photo. And will be able to be locked to the frame in case we leave the vehicle. Thus fully enclosing all the expensive stuff underneath.

[FridgeFreezer]

Interesting - I did something like this back in the day (when my 109 was blue) using UniStrut acquired from work it was OK, seemed a good idea on paper but a few issues (maybe worth considering) were:

- Weight (if you use steel, try to use as thin as possible, it doesn't take much to support a human but very lightweight steel box is hard to come by outside of eBay gazebos)

- Although there was plenty of room lengthways, sitting up / getting dressed proved a bit more of a pain.

- Access to the underneath (mine had sectional panels which lifted up) was never easy, as stuff tended to accumulate on top and then be in the way when you wanted to get underneath

One very good idea I've seen is a fold-out bracket which supports either end of a pole, creating an army-stretcher style bed - very simple, very light, folds away to nothing. You could put a brace across behind the front seats to accept the pole(s) and the same across the back (or an upright leg) which would be less intrusive. I might have a photo somewhere.

[hobson]

I like the idea, but i'd be worried about what those metal bars would be impaling in the event of a crash, will they be left in place permanently?

[M&S]

I recently made some frames out of 20mm steel box. Cheap as chips and more than able to stand up to you needs. 30mm sounds too big unless you need it the size for any other reason.

I like the idea. I gave up on a double bed arrangement after doing a camper van conversion before. Two singles are simpler, one each side

[tweetyduck]

We've considered the getting dressed part and will have an awning. We only plan on sleeping inside when a tent won't cut it or cannot be pitched. We may even have a roof tent as well.

A lot of the overland conversions i have seen waste the back space above where the bed boards are. Its just dead space in a lot of them. There also seems to be a tendancy to put a grill between the rear load space and the second row of seats, you know the standard dog guard jobby. This leaves a lot of dead space in the front also. None of it used for anything. So i though why not just use it all front to back for a bed. The board would make the area below very secure and can be removed easily when not loacked down. I've not decided on how we wil lock them down yet.

The frame will be permanent and fixed to the body. We have considered the back half being perm fixed and the front half slots in. The problem i see with that is it will stay slotted in all the time as if it will become tedious to assemble day in day out. Putting the bed boards on hinges so they can be flipped up to cover the windows was another idea. So the frame will likely be fixed in entirely with the boards as they are in the picture.

If you don't mind me asking where do you see the risk coming from as theres still time to re-design it?

the 30mm with 2.5 wall was chosen as its the same size as the wood. No other reason really. I did think 20 or 25 would be fine. We're still considering Ali though. Off to see the fabrication place tomorrow.

[M&S]

Honestly, 20mm will be more than fine

I like reading threads like these where people make things that suit them. Only you know how you use the vehicle and how you intend to use it, so why not make it 100% to your liking. That's what I'm doing with the Disco

[Bush65]

Beware of overloading. Creating more usable space to fill with non-essential stuff will become a burden almost every day of a long trip.

High weight reduces where you can safely take your vehicle, its stability, performance, fuel economy, braking, while increasing mechanical failure rate, wear and tear.

[FridgeFreezer]

20mm 2.5mm wall box I'd say is overkill, OK it may seem light enough but pile all the bits up and it's a fair chunk of weight to add. As I said, you really want some really thinwall box (~1mm) such as you'd find on the average desk or bed, perhaps in slightly larger section to add strength.

There's also stuff like Bosch extruded aluminium system or the more budget steel & ali box system which can make DIY a bit easier and also lead to something a bit less permanent & more adaptable.

[hobson]

If you don't mind me asking where do you see the risk coming from as theres still time to re-design it?

If you're referring to my post, i just thought that having metal tubes, wether steel or ally in the back of a vehicle, especially if they're fixed to anything structural could, in the event of an accident come loose/snap/bend into the occupants, if any decent sized vehicle hit you with any force, or heaven forbid you rolled it, you've got a lot of pretty sharp, pointy lengths of metal inside, in close proximity to where you're sitting.

i have no idea how you'd design around it though.

[Guest wunntenn]

I made my sleeping platform in my 110 out of thin (3/8 inch) ply, and used storage boxes underneath to reinforce it, two large and two small boxes. The boxes are the green stacking plastic types from Viking Direct and I reinforced them with a thin ply top. The idea is that when they're inside you can sleep on top with no danger of breaking anything. When taken out the two large boxes become seat bases for placing therm-a-rest chairs on, and the two smaller boxes become the base for a table made out of one of the the three ply boards that span the back to make the sleeping area. Its cheap, light, incredibly strong, completely removable and extremely versatile. And did I say cheap?

[tweetyduck]

Thanks guys.

Went off to have a re-think on the materials. That bosch stuff is ideal but very very pricy !

So i went to the metal place and discussed the requirements with the guy. We ended up at 20mm Square Hollow Section with a 2mm wall. We think the entire thing will be about 15kg in weight so thats not very much considering the boards weight about 28kg ! The Metal is about the same price as the wood !

I should'nt have bothered prototyping it.

So the entire bed is 43Kg i.e the same as a roof tent (without the roofrack)

As for the safety of it all we are going to angle the front supports forward and they will be bolted to the chassis around the same area as the front seat belt mounts. I might even use the seat belt mount boltholes where the middle lap belt was.

all that considered i'm thankful i now am considering safety which wasn't factored in at the begining. The metal should all be cut tomorrow and we're picking up the fridge. Storage is partially completed with some really usefull boxes chosen specifically got their fit under the boards.

Nearly finished....shake down in a week of so. If only for a few days in the UK to see how we go as there's lots of small stuff to do like the extended tanks, water, power etc...

[M&S]

Great stuff. After pricing up the 20mm box I just bought lengths of it and started making - as you say, same price (if not cheaper!) than wood, and if you get it wrong cut it out and weld it somewhere else

[Se7enUp]

I made a bed to fit in my old 90 and used ply (around 10mm thick) for the "platform".

I rested one side of the bed on a couple of Bareboxes and made some strut type legs for the other side.

These were originally desk type legs and screwed onto fixed bases that I fixed to the platform part.

It easily held my weight and took minutes to assemble.

I liked sleeping in the 90 so much I bought a 110 and now use it instead of a tent!

[hobson]

To get the weight down a bit more you cut some holes out of the base boards using a hole saw, if you're sensible it'll save you a decent amount of weight without sacrificing strucural strength.

if you think about it most beds are a series of planks, and i've seen a few motorhome beds which were flat boards with holes cut out. this not only saves weight but gives good ventilation/circulation, and if you have a leak (not suggesting you wet the bed ) it will dry quicker and let the liquid through rather than sitting on top soaking in.

the hole size will be dependent on what your using as a mattress.

just a thought

[tweetyduck]

To get the weight down a bit more you cut some holes out of the base boards using a hole saw, if you're sensible it'll save you a decent amount of weight without sacrificing strucural strength.

if you think about it most beds are a series of planks, and i've seen a few motorhome beds which were flat boards with holes cut out. this not only saves weight but gives good ventilation/circulation, and if you have a leak (not suggesting you wet the bed ) it will dry quicker and let the liquid through rather than sitting on top soaking in.

the hole size will be dependent on what your using as a mattress.

just a thought

Already in the design. I was looking this morning for some ideas on how many holes i can do but got nothing, so it will be trial and error. Going to go with 25% holes and see how i go.

[M&S]

If you are using 10mm ply I reckon you'd get away with 50% (2" holes drilled at 4" centres) if you had a support across the middle. 8mm ply would be enough if supported in several places by the frame. A 20% weight saving...

I agree with hobson, holes also helps with condensation/breathability.

[stripy]

this is what i did

[Happyoldgit]

^^I like that, neat and compacts nicely. I did something similar in my 130 ambulance but hung it from the roof instead.

[FridgeFreezer]

this is what i did

That's the one! I love that setup, so simple and folds away to nowt.

[Happyoldgit]

I bought (but never used / still sat in the garage) a pair of beds supposedly out of a VW camper which are much the same as that except that the poles lock in the open position allowing the setup to be suspended from the roof rails. It's a neat solution.

[tweetyduck]

My frame is almost complete in steel 20mm. I've made the cross member removable and the only bits that will be fixed are the rear side supports and the front supports behind the front seats. I'll post some pictures either tomorrow or next week when its finished. Also picked up my fridge....see other post for that story !

I like the canvas bed....she wouldn't. Plus i do plan on servicing more than the 110 on the trip and a double bed is better for that...

[tweetyduck]

So the frame is nearly finished. The welding isn't pretty in some places and OK in others. Need some more bits to finish it off so it should be done next week. The bed boards are going to get the hole saw treatment and i've worked out i can save 15% on the weight of each board with minimal hole cutting. Actually 48 bloody holes in each large board .

I suppose i should thank my 66yo mother for helping me today with the welding and also to rectify the one side lower that the other syndrome. I said "nah that won't work" and can you believe it,,,it did. Thanks Mum.

Now Mikes gone who am i going to call......

[M&S]

Just a thought, some heavy gauge wire mesh will be lighter than drilled plywood and possibly cheaper?

[farmershort]

Hi there, I'm new but want to do almost exactly the same thing in my 110 - so thanks for the pics.

have you finished the steel work yet? any photos?

as I dont have the rear chair, and I dont want/need the table - I thought of a slight modification:

basic design similar to yours, but have 2 'halves' which fold up (with folding leg supports) along the length of the back. Perhaps wouldn't work aswell for you as you have the windows in the sides, and my plan would cover them up. My next though then is that these halves do not really need to be half the width - there can be a gap down the middle, as long as the ply spans it well enough.

I'm gonna have a crack at it anyway, but would very much lie to see your steel work in and finished.

[tweetyduck]

I'll be posting pictures tomorrow.

Steelwork is mostly finished but still witing from some plastic plugs and some 2mm x 20mm equal angle to stop the boards sliding off.

We're waiting for wednesday for B&Q 10% day for the plywood as they cut it up exaclty. I need some longer sections as the bed is now wider after we decided to ditch the roof plank store.

I'll post some detailed pictures which will no doubt show up my crappy welding.

Welcome to the forum.